New property assessments explained

     A few weeks ago, property owners received letters in the mail showcasing, in most instances, increases in their property assessments. This ultimately leads to increases in property taxes.

     The Monticello Express published a press release in June 2017, followed by an ad in April 2018 explained the door-to-door home inspections for all single-residential properties in Jones County.

     The program, conducted by Vanguard Appraisals, Inc. was approved by the Conference Board in 2015. Knowing the scope of the project, it cost roughly $800,000. The five data collectors started going door-to-door in the spring of 2017. It was an on-going two-year project.

     The purpose of the re-appraisal was to equalize property assessments.

     While the Assessor’s Office conducts re-appraisals every two years, the last time something like this was done across the county was 20 years ago.

     The new assessed property values took effect Jan. 1, 2019, for taxes payable in Fiscal Year 2020-21.

     The following is an interview with Jones County Assessor Sarah Benter concerning the re-appraisal process. Hopefully these answer many of the questions out there…

     Q: Why was the revaluation needed?

     A: The International Association of Assessing Officers recommends that re-appraisals occur every four to six years to keep property information current.

     Every year, we get the building permits from the towns so we know which properties we need to visit to pick up new construction. We also drive the county roads in the rural areas to check properties for changes. However, a lot can happen on the interior of a house in 20 years that would change their market value that we may not be made aware of.

     When properties sell that have had changes to the interior that wasn’t accounted for in the assessed value, the sale price is likely going to be much different than the assessment. Over time, we’re going to get further away from the market value without interior inspections.

     Q: What were the Vanguard appraisers looking for when it come to determining the new assessed values?

     A: There are many factors that go into the valuation. The larger factors that come into play are the square footage of a dwelling or building, age of construction, the type of construction, quality of the finish, condition, the number of plumbing fixtures, and extras such as fireplaces.

     It’s a common misunderstanding that the number of bedrooms affects the value. Bedroom counts do not generate any value because we’re already valuing for the square footage. Bathroom counts do generate value because of the number of plumbing fixtures.

     Q: How many people did Vanguard have working on this project?

     A: There were a total of 19 Vanguard employees who worked on the revaluation throughout the two years. at any given time, there were two to five data collectors doing the door-to-door inspections, two to two reviewers checking the information and analyzing sale information, and up to 10 employees working on data input.

     Q: What might the variances in the re-assessed values be based on?

     A: We saw a wide range of value changes across the county. Some people saw decreases.

     In the past, when the Iowa Department of Revenue would require us to increase values to catch up with the residential market, we would apply an across-the-board increase within market areas. Therefore, property owners are used to seeing an increase the same as their neighbors.

     The purpose of the re-valuation was to collect updated and correct information on each property so the value changes are not going to be the same.

     With it being such a long span since having updated inspections, a lot of things could have changed inside the homes that we were not aware of. Some examples would be finished basements, remodeling, or adding plumbing fixtures.

     Benter said there were three criteria for which the data collectors assessed a property: physical inspection, estimated inspection, and refusal. The estimated inspection required three attempts to access the property.

     Q: How do the new assessments impact homeowners’ property taxes?

     A: We can only estimate what their new taxes might be at this point. These new values are for the 2019 assessment year, and you’re always paying your property taxes a year behind.

     The first time property owners will pay on this new valuation will be in the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021.

     Property taxes are figured by taking the assessed value multiplied by the rollback from the state, and then multiplied by the levy from the taxing district. The rollback and levy rates will change twice before they pay on the 2019 values. The residential rollback for the 2018 taxes will be 56.1324 percent, and the current levy for Monticello is 34.05254 per 1,000.

     So is the new assessed value was $1000,000, times 56 percent, times 34.05, the estimated yearly taxes would come out to $1,911.

     Q: What do homeowners do with this new, updated information?

     A: As a property owner, you might not be aware of what properties similar to yours are selling for if you’re not looking to buy or sell. You can use out comparable search on our website (www.beacon.schneidercorp.com) to find similar properties and what they have been selling for recently.

     Per the Iowa Code, we are to assess residential properties at fair market value. If a property owner feels their assessment is not in line with the current market value of their property, we encourage them to call (319-462-2671) or stop in (Jones County Courthouse Room 26) and talk to us.

     This residential revaluation was done to update our property records and have more accurate data and values. If that is not the case on certain properties, we want to get them corrected. Our office can continue to make corrections until April 1. After that point, property owners can file a petition with the Jones County Board of Review from April 2-30 if they still feel their valuation is incorrect.

     Ultimately, the current sales drive our values to keep them in line with the market. We are required to turn in all of our sales to the Iowa Department of Revenue. The DOR analyzes our sales ratio of assessed value compared to the sale price of the properties that have sold in the last year.

     Every odd year is an equalization year, and if our median sales ratio falls below 95 percent, we have to increase values to catch up with the market. Our median sales ratio for the county was falling below 91 percent; therefore, residential properties would have seen an increase in assessed value regardless for the revaluation.